Yuchi Chifan () or Yuchi Fanchi () (566 – 595), later

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

nun name Huashou (華首), was a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

of the Emperor Xuan of the

Northern Zhou dynasty Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

of China. Yuchi Chifan's grandfather

Yuchi Jiong Yuchi Jiong (尉遲迥) (died 11 September 580), courtesy name Bojuluo (薄居羅), was a general of the Xianbei-led Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties of China. He first came to prominence while his uncle Yuwen Tai served as the paramount g ...

the Duke of Shu was a renowned general of Northern Zhou and a nephew of

Yuwen Tai Yuwen Tai () (505/7 – 21 November 556According to Yuwen Tai's biography in ''Book of Zhou'', he died aged 52 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''yihai'' day of the 10th month of the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Gong of Western Wei. This co ...

, Emperor Xuan's grandfather, making her and Emperor Xuan cousins. She initially married Yuwen Wen (宇文溫) the Duke of Xiyang—a son of Emperor Xuan's cousin Yuwen Liang (宇文亮) the Duke of Qi. She was said to be exceedingly beautiful. Sometime in or before 580, on an occasion when the wives of imperial clan members were, pursuant to the customs of the time, in the palace to greet the Emperor Xuan, Emperor Xuan was so infatuated by her beauty that he forced her to drink, and then raped her after she fell drunk. In spring 580, Yuwen Liang, angry and fearful over the incident, was one of the generals commanding troops against rival

Chen dynasty The Chen dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Chen (南陳 / 南朝陳) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and the fourth and last of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasties, ...

. As the army withdrew from the borders after having captured the territory between the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

and the

Huai River The Huai River, formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in East China, about long with a drainage area of . It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

in winter 579, Yuwen Liang made the plan to ambush the commander of the entire operation,

Wei Xiaokuan Wei Xiaokuan (韋孝寬) (509 – 17 December 580), formal personal name Wei Shuyu (韋叔裕) (but went by the courtesy name of Xiaokuan), known by the Xianbei name Yuwen Xiaokuan (宇文孝寬) during late Western Wei and Northern Zhou, formally ...

, and then seize the entire army and support an uncle of Emperor Xuan to be emperor. The plot, however, was revealed by his staff member Ru Kuan (茹寬) to Wei, and when Yuwen Liang attacked Wei, Wei was prepared and defeated him. Yuwen Liang was killed in battle, and Emperor Xuan, then carrying the atypical title "Emperor Tianyuan" (天元皇帝, ''Tianyuan Huangdi'') as retired emperor, then executed Yuwen Wen. He then summoned Yuchi Chifan to the palace and made her an imperial consort with the title ''Zhang Guifei'' (長貴妃). He soon further elevated her to the title of empress (of which his wife

Yang Lihua Yang Lihua (; 561–609) was an empress of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty, and later a princess of the Sui dynasty. Background Yang Lihua was born in 561, as the eldest daughter of Yang Jian, then the heir apparent to Yang ...

and three other concubines already possessed) with the title ''Tianzuo Da Huanghou'' (天左大皇后), on 18 April 580.( ��象二年��月...甲辰，初置天中大皇后。立天左大皇后陈氏为天中大皇后，立妃尉迟氏为天左大皇后。) ''Zhou Shu'', vol.07. Chen Yueyi, the previous ''Tianzuo Da Huanghou'', was made ''Tianzhong Da Huanghou''. Emperor Xuan died in June 580, and Empress Yang's father Yang Jian became

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

to Emperor Xuan's son Emperor Jing. Empress Yuchi became a Buddhist nun with the name of Huashou. Her grandfather Yuchi Jiong subsequently rose against Yang Jian, but was defeated and committed suicide. His sons, and some other members of the Yuchi clan (but not the entire clan) were executed, although Empress Yuchi was not harmed. Yang Jian subsequently seized the throne and established

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

(as Emperor Wen), and she died in 595, during Emperor Wen's reign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuchi, Chifan Northern Zhou empresses Northern Zhou Buddhists Sui dynasty Buddhists Chinese Buddhist nuns 6th-century Buddhist nuns 566 births 595 deaths